Stonington ― Local technology firm Rite-Solutions Inc. announced Monday it has received a five-year, $60.7 million U.S. Navy contract.

The veteran-owned company with offices in Pawcatuck, Middletown, R.I., Virginia and Washington, D.C., was awarded the contract to support the Naval Undersea Warfare Center’s Activity Chief Information Officer/Information Technology division, which is responsible for strategic planning, operations, maintenance and compliance of the center’s IT systems and infrastructure, according to a press release.

Rocky Reeves, senior vice president and director of Rite-Solutions’ IT Services, said Tuesday the company has doubled in size over the last several years, and nearly 20% of its approximately 475 employees will be involved with the contract to provide services in such areas as software engineering, systems administration, support and help desk services and cybersecurity.

“In this day and age, cybersecurity is of the utmost importance,” he said. “What we’re doing is trying to prevent attacks, so we’re hardening systems.”

Reeves attributed the award, which the company has now received four consecutive times, to Rite-Solutions’ highly qualified and trained employees.

“The Department of Defense has a cybersecurity workforce, and to be a member of that workforce, you have to have certain certifications, both from a security aspect and also from an operating systems side,” Reeves said.

He explained that all employees on the contract must have security clearances and at least 50% of employees must meet further Department of Defense cybersecurity workforce requirements, including additional training and operating and security certifications. He said that in addition to meeting the requirements, many Rite-Solutions employees also have degrees in cybersecurity or computer science as well as additional certifications.

“We are honored that NUWC chose to renew the contract with us,” Rite-Solutions co-founder Joe Marino said in the press release. “While we are rapidly expanding into new technologies that give the Navy an ”Information Advantage,“ IT services and security remain a critical component of what we offer.”

In addition to the work at NUWC headquarters in Newport, R.I., the company will also provide remote support for NUWC locations in New London, Virginia, Florida and the Bahamas.